The Chronicles of Tenroha

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Matáo had let the fire die down and placed a pail of water next to it so that it would be easier to put out if someone came snooping around. As he sat there, he tried to picture, in his mind, images of the village that Jessie had told him about. He couldn't fathom how people could be so cruel as to do something like that. This was an unwarranted attack on people. He started remembering the town as it had been before. He remembered walking the streets with Jonah, the townspeople laughing, and the way that the people of the town had taken care of him, his brother, and sister after their parents died.

The town had become his extended family. He thought about how the whole town had come to support Jäkob at the party. He thought about all the times he would get in trouble for just doing what children often do. This made him smile. He thought about the things that he and Jonah would do to get them in trouble until it was time for him to go and wake Jonah. He also decided that after Jonah was awake he would go and see the village for himself.

It was well after midnight before he woke Jonah. Matáo told him of the plans that he and Jäkob had decided earlier that night. They were going to seek help from the Peacekeepers of the nearest town. He then told Jonah that he wanted to go down into the village. He explained to him that he was going to see if the soldiers were still in the village, and try to get some food and other things for their travels from his house.

Jonah didn't like that he was going by himself, but agreed that it needed to be done. Matáo convinced him that it would be easier for one person to get into the village unnoticed than for two. Jonah agreed, and with that, Matáo strapped on one of the swords that he had taken from the soldiers, and threw his bow over his shoulder. Then he quietly set off for the village.

Matáo walked slowly and silently down the path that led to the village. He kept a watchful eye on the tree line, watching for any sign of movement that could be soldiers that might be hiding behind the trees. As he walked, he turned at every sound he heard. The images that Jessie described were flashing through his head, and made him nervous.

Once he had arrived at the top of the cliff, he, again, crawled on his belly and peered over the side to see if any of the soldiers had been looking for their comrades. He watched for several minutes, but didn't see anyone at the base. He worked his way down to the bottom, slowly and cautiously. When he had reached the bottom, he took a moment to survey the area, still checking for unwanted soldiers who might be lurking around.

Once he had determined that he was still alone, he set off in the direction of the dead soldiers. Of the three dead men, there was one that had been about his size and he decided to put on his armor to avoid being seen. He dirtied his face a little, just in case he was spotted by one of the soldiers. As he approached the outskirts of the village he could smell the fire. The rancid odor of burning flesh and hair made his stomach wretch.

This was worse than Jessie had told him. The stench from the burning bodies made his eyes water. Not from just the smoke and odor, but the memories of his loved ones that had been killed today. He saw several of his neighbor's houses burnt to the ground, fresh blood on the ground, and drag marks leading to the center of town, towards the fire. He peered through the forest and he saw soldiers throwing items into the fire. As he watched, he saw a soldier dragging a man, who was flailing his arms and screaming, towards the fire. He stopped just a pace or two from the inferno and released the man's legs.

From the distance, Matáo couldn't see which of the men from the village that was being dragged. The man's arms were still moving around and he was pleading to be spared. The two soldiers that were standing nearest to him started laughing at him and said, "run away if ya please sir, I'm not gonna chase ya." The man tried to get up, he tried to roll over. He couldn't move his legs.